Thursday, February 8, 2018

St. SABA NEIGHBORHOOD

It was the
first major project for the ISTITUTO CASE POPOLARI DI ROMA (Public Housing
Institute of Rome) founded in 1903

Excellent
public housing. One of the best building experiments in Rome on a hill that had
been included by the Aurelian Walls
and was known as PICCOLO AVENTINO (small Aventine Hill)

According
to the 1921 census, Rome had a population of about 660,000 inhabitants and the
neighborhood was at that time on the outskirts of the city, close to the
countryside

Semi-detached
villas with gardens and buildings of no more than four floors for 546 homes and
about 2,500 inhabitants

“At a
distance of a century, it remains one of the most significant examples of
public intervention in residential construction. This is due to the choice of
the building types, the relationship between buildings and terrain, the use of
durable materials - especially the brick facing - the clarity of the decorative
elements and the overall quality of the architectural solutions” (Piero Ostilio
Rossi)

“The
proximity of the Aurelian Walls and of the church of S. Saba, suggests the
adoption of traditional materials such as masonry brick, travertine, tufa, raw
plaster, helping to create a design language that is fully integrated into the
area” (Giorgio Muratore)

“The
intervention has a unitary definition, both for the linguistic aspects (thanks
to the use of masonry bricks), and for the articulation between the different
building types which follow the morphology of the soil. The first core, built
behind the medieval church of S. Saba, develops with single-family homes with
two-story, single or aggregated in a row, all far from the road and with
independent entrances and gardens. Subsequent interventions are characterized
by the composition of buildings in line, in open court. The neighborhood
includes also service areas such as a public school, a clinic, a meeting room
and public toilets” (Francesca Romana Stable - www.ediliziastorica.blogspot.it)